Rizal Law and The Teaching of Rizal Course

Rizal, A True Filipino Hero

Rizal, Pioneer Asian Nationalist Leader

Major Periods in the Life of Rizal

• Author: Claro M. Recto

• Sponsored the
Bill in the Senate: Jose P. Laurel

• Signed: June 12, 1956

• Full name of the Law

• Mandates the teaching of the life, works,

and writings of Rizal in all schools in the
country
• Accdg. to Sen. Jose P. Laurel, who
sponsored the said law, since Rizal was the
founder of Filipino nationality and the
architech of the Filipino nation, there is a
need to know and imbibe the great ideals
and principles for which he died.
Moreover, Laurel believed that by reading
and studying Rizal's life, teachings and
writings, Filipino youth will be able to:
- gain incorruptible confidence
- direction
- courage
- and determination to move forward in
our people's journey towards an abundant
life.
• Objectives of the Law:

• 1. To rededicate the lives of the youth to the

ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which
our heroes lived and died;
• 2. To pay tribute to our national hero for
devoting his life and works in shaping the
Filipino character
• 3. To gain an inspiring source of patriotism
thru the study of Rizal's life, works and writings.
• Goals set by the Board on National
Education:

• 1. To recognize the relevance of Rizal's

ideals, thoughts, teachings and life values to
present conditions in the community;

• 2. To apply Rizal's ideals in the solution of

day-to-day situations and problems in
contemporary life;
• Goals set by the Board on National
Education:

• 3. To develop an understanding and

appreciation of the qualities, behavior and
character of Rizal; and

• 4. To foster the development of moral

character, personal discipline, citizenship and
vocational efficiency among the Filipino
youth.
• In many countries in the world, the leader is
almost always chosen.

• Jose Rizal was not a man of war but a man

of peace.

• Among the country's national heroes, Jose

Rizal stands out. To many Filipinos, he is the
national hero of the Philippines.
• Actually, Rizal is only one of the country's
national heroes who include Andres
Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Marcelo H. del Pilar
and others more.

• They helped guide in the formation of the

Filipino national spirit and the Philippine
nation-state.

• All these heroes are examplars of all

Filipinos to follow.
• Historian Renato Constantino (1969) claimed
that it was the Americans who were
responsible for endorsing him as the Philippine
national hero.

• He cited the efforts of the Taft Commission in

1901 which picked Rizal from a group of
heroes, which included Emilio
Aguinaldo,Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario
Mabini.
• Teodoro Agoncillo (1986) - eminent historian
- writes that Rizal was acceptable as a
national hero to the Americans because he
was the symbol of assimilation, which was their
policy then in the Philippines.

• Rizal never favored revolution but the slow

process of evolution through education which
suited American objectives.
• Factors which contributed to Rizal's
acceptability as the official hero of the
Philippines:

• 1. Rizal was already dead at the time the

Americans began their aggression in the
Philippines.

• 2. No embarrassing anti-American quotations could

ever be attributed to Rizal.

• 3. Rizal's dramatic martyrdom had already made

him the symbol of Spanish oppression.
• In reality, it is the Filipinos themselves who
chose Rizal as their national hero.

• This could be seen in tributes to him during his lifetime

and immediately after his death.

• The Katipuneros considered him the honorary leader

of the Katipunan.

• His guidance was sought by its emissaries when Dr.

Pio Valenzuela visited him in Dapitan in 1892.
• Rizal's name was one of the passwords of the
secret society which swore to fight for the
country's freedom.

• Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo

• - issued a decree on Dec. 20, 1898 ordering
that Dec 30, the anniversary of Rizal's
execution at Bagumbayan, be
commemorated as “a day of mourning for
Rizal and other victims of the Philippine
Revolution”
• Act No. 345
- the basis of the yearly celebration of Rizal
Day
•
• *The early admiration for Rizal is manifested in
the erection of the first monument in his honor.

• Dec. 30. 1898 - a group of masons erected a

simple monument in Daet, Camarines Norte
-The monument bore the words:
• “A Jose Rizal” (To Jose Rizal)
• “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo,”
the title of his two important novels and
“Morga” which refers to the book “Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas”
- annotated by Rizal in 1890 to correct
Spanish misinterpretations in the book written
by Antonio Morga during the 17th century

*The monument at Daet antecedates the

better known monument at Luneta in Manila.
-*Though the monument in Luneta was
erected during the American Regime, it is the
Filipino people themselves that helped build
the monument through public subscriptions.
-*This was authorized by Act No. 243 of the
Philippine Commission.
Another proof:
- Construction of myriad monuments in his
honor in most cities and towns in the country.
- Many main streets and avenues in the various
towns and cities are named after him.
- One province, Rizal Province, formerly part of
the province of Manila, was named in his
honor by virtue of Act No. 137 of the Philippine
Commission
Another proof:
- Filipino businessmen named their businesses
after Rizal, as a sign of their admiration
and respect.
- bank(RCBC - Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.)
- match (Rizal)
- universities (Jose Rizal University and Rizal
Technological University)
- all one peso coin bears his image
All of these are outward signs of the Filipino's
adulations for Rizal and his achievements.

He is truly a hero of the Filipinos.

Conclusions drawn: (Guerrero, 1998)

1. Since the Filipinos love peace, they have

chosen to magnify a man of peace above the
men of war.

2. Because Filipinos are lovers of freedom and

justice, they have given their worship to a man
who gave up all comforts and pleasures of
peace for their sake.
Conclusions drawn: (Guerrero, 1998)

3. Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and

sacrifice above success.

Despite the controversy on Rizal's heroism, it

cannot be denied that he gave form to the
aspiration of the Filipino people, thereby giving
rise to our people's nationalist struggle.
Conclusions drawn: (Guerrero, 1998)

Due to Rizal's qualities, he was able to serve the

pressing needs of the people.
Constantino (1969),
- Rizal is a hero in the sense that he was able
to see the problems generated by historical
forces, discern the new social needs created
by historical development of new social
relationships, and take an active part in
meeting these needs.
- Guerrero (1998)
- Rizal was the first Filipino
- This was because it was Rizal who first called
the Philippines as his fatherland.

- It was he who taught his countrymen that

they could be something else, Filipinos who
were members of the Filipino nation.
- Guerrero (1998)
- Rizal was the first Filipino

- He was the first to work towards the

unification of the Philippine archipelago into a
compact and homogenous body based on
common interests and mutual protection.
- Rizal was born in the decade when other
nationalist leaders of Asia were born:
- Mohandas Gandhi, Rabindaranath Tagore
and Sun Yat-Sen

Accdg. to Coates (1968), all the four

challenged the West but Rizal was the most
remarkable because his ideas matured at an
early age.
- At that time that Gandhi was a schoolboy
and Sun Yat-Sen was a student, Rizal was
already articulating lucidly in his speeches,
articles and letters his views of a completely
different relationship between Asia and Europe
- that the Asians must be regarded by Europe
as equals.
- De Ocampo, (1969)
- Rizal was the first exponent of Asian
nationalism since he was the source of
inspiration for the outbreak of the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.

*Although Rizal opposed the revolution

because it was premature and inadequately
organized, the revolution brole out, which can
be considered the first genuine uprising by an
Asian people against the Western colonialism.
- Fischer (1962)
- Rizal was the Pioneer Exponent of Liberal
Democracy in Asia.
- even before Gandhi and Sun Yat-Sen
began their career of political agitation, Rizal
through his essays, letters and novels had
already spoken out with firmness and courage
ideas on liberal democracy.
- Fischer (1962)

- Ideas for liberal democracy by Rizal:

The worth and dignity of the individual
The inviolability of human rights
The innate equality of all men and races
The necessity for constitutional government
Due process of law
- Fischer (1962)

- Ideas for liberal democracy by Rizal:

 Popular sovereignty as the basis of all
political authority
 Faith in human reason and enlightenment
The rights of the masses to public eduaction,
and
 Belief in social progress through freedom.
- Rizal was the first Asian leader to assert that
the aforementioned ideas and principles be
established in Asia for the benefit of the Asians.

- It was through Rizal that the basic tenets of

modern and social democracy was given a
major voice in Asia for the first time.

- Thus, Rizal deserves to be called the First Asian

Nationalist Leader
- There are four major periods in the life of Rizal:
1861 - 1872 1882 - 1892
1872 - 1882 1892 - 1896 (Celedonio, 1982)

First Period (1861 - 1872)

Second Period (1872 - 1882)
Third Period (1882 - 1892)
Fourth Period (1892 - 1896)
- This was the period when the young Rizal
learned how to read, write and listened to
stories that triggered imaginative and critical
thinking on his part.

- It was a period when the following values

and virtues were developed in him:
- It was a period when the following values
and virtues were developed in him:
• industrious instead of idleness;
• creativeness instead of unproductiveness;
• rationality instead of blind acceptance; and
• dignity instead of servility.
- This was the first turning point in the life of
Rizal.

 - He was then 11 years and was enrolled at

Ateneo Municipal, despite the objection of his
mother.

 - It was the period when Fathers Gomez,

Burgos and Zamora were unjustly executed by
the Spanish government.
- The martyrdom of these three priests led
Rizal to be awakened to the abuses of the
regime and at the same time led him to
devote himself in the future to avenge the
victims of injustices and cruelties of the
Spanish colonizers.
- Other significant developments in his life
during this period include the following:

Strengthening of his religious foundation;

Cultivation of the drive toward excellence;
Envisioning the Philippines receiving light thru
education; and
Perception of the intimate alliance between
religion and education.
 - The year 1882 was the second major turning
point in the life of Rizal.

 - It was at this time that Rizal decided to leave

the Philippines to escape persecution.

 - He went to Europe and everywhere he went,

Rizal was always an observer and a
student,learning from everything he saw, read
and heard.
 - He urged the Filipino colony in Spain to
prove that Filipinos can compete with the
Europeans in intellect and talent.

 - Thru his membership in exclusive societies of

scholars and scientists in Europe where he
presented monographs and was greatly
appreciated, Rizal provided his compatriots
an example.
 - During this period Rizal took part in the
Propaganda Movement, based in Europe.

 - Through his articles, essays, and novels, he

sought to make truthful disclosures of the
political, social, and economic conditions in
the Philippines.
- The year 1892 can be considered the last
turning point in the life of our national hero,
before his martyrdom on Dec. 30, 1896.

- Rizal was exiled in Dapitan. It was in

Dapitan, where he demonstrated what an
individual can do and accomplish within a
short period of time.
- It is here where he detached his
connections with politics and devoted more
of his time in practical service and usefulness
to the community.
Next topic:
• The 19th Century World of Jose Rizal
Growth and Development of Nationalism
Rise and Gradual Spread of Liberalism and
Democracy
The Industrial Revolution
The Advance of Science
The Resurgence of Western Imperialism
Optimism and Confidence in Progress